Almost a King
by NithyaTemperance
Summary: Rukia thinks about Ishida's place in her life and comes very close to being brilliant. Sequel-ish to 'The Prince and his Queen'. Implied IchiRuki, implied one-sided IshiRuki.


This is kinda like a sequel-thingummy to 'The Prince and his Queen'.Rukia's views on Ishida-san and the place he occupies in her heart (in my delusional fangirl mind).The scarf scene is revisited ,and we see why Rukia should not write relationship advice columns (she actually might be one of the askers (signed'Oblivious')) .This was the result of too much coffee and the staunch refusal of a crazed heart to let go of crack IshiRuki , but please do enjoy! Reviews are like cupcakes!So please try and review!

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Ishida Uryuu was a strange one.

No, really. Even by the mind-bogglingly low standards of strange that Rukia had gotten used to since coming to Karakura cho, which was basically a crack house, the slender man with the flashing glasses and ready smirk had caught her attention.

It was because of him, honestly, that ice cream had become her favorite living world food. She loved coming to the park and watching sunsets. She loved chasing the adorable rabbits there, loved licking the melting dessert off of her fingers, loved walking home late, loved listening to Ishida being human.

The guy was…amazing. He was the perfect companion, the perfect guide, the perfect gentleman. Chivalry and kindness came to him like breathing, and there was nothing forced in the way he went about applying those values. It made her so proud, so very proud, that she could call a man like that her friend. It surprised her that he never seemed to tire of the park, even though according to him, he'd been coming here since he was a kid. This was good, because Rukia could only continue coming so long as he did. She'd found out that coming alone wasn't as glamorous as she'd imagined it to be ,and coming with Ichigo was simply out of the question ;already there were enough rumors spreading around about his relationship with her .She wasn't going to entangle him in any more problems .

Ishida Uryuu was, therefore, a godsend.

Watching him was an activity in itself. He talked with such confident resolve, he walked with such unexpected grace. When he looked at her ,his eyes were like blinding sapphires , and his cheeks were, strangely enough, the shy pink of the roses in Ni-sama ' s garden in Seireitei(medical condition? )

His praise was like the warm touch of sunlight and his reprimand was like jagged glass; and yet, and yet, when he looked at you, REALLY looked at you, there was, always, such uncontained kindness, such unmasked understanding there, it was sometimes difficult to believe that he was just a teenager. Of course, these moments didn't last long; soon Ichigo would happen and the two boys would be up and in each other's faces, taunting and glaring , and Rukia would sigh and think about going over and smashing their heads together to distract herself from thoughts about how much older, how far away from them she really was.

Sometimes, she noticed him looking at her. And she wondered if he looked because he hated her shinigami blood, or because her race secretly intrigued that excellent mind of his. His gaze varied , when she was smiling, it was mellow and unreadable, maddeningly mysterious. Then when she was smiling again, but this time within the conscious Kuchiki mould; pretending to be strong when she was shit scared inside- at times like these it was hard, disapproving; furious, even. Though at what she could never tell . But it was real anger, it was real annoyance , unlike the one he displayed on his face every day for the world to see . Just like Ichigo.

It always amazed her, really, how much alike he and Ichigo were. The two males could barely exist in the same room together , and yet they understood each other , trusted each other implicitly . Truth be told ,sometimes she watched their unnecessarily rude encounters and secretly smiled;it made her glad that Ichigo had people like Ishida around . It made it a little bit easy when she had to leave him.

Because leave him she would .Again, and again and again…simply because she would never belong in this world of his. In this world, there was never a hole for her to fill,so she had no fear of any void her absence might give birth to . Ichigo would manage,as Ichigo always would be expected to . Inoue - sweet,beautiful,caring Inoue-she would miss Rukia . For a month maybe , if Rukia was lucky,a year . But then she too would move on . Sado would keep a spot for her on the school terrace for as long as he could,then one day he would accept that she wasn't coming back . Ishida…what was there to be said about Ishida?Maybe he would be glad;this was one less shinigami he would need to associate himself with…

Or maybe he would be somewhat lonely too;without her to act as his personal mannequin, without her to eat unhealthy quantities of ice cream with …maybe…For she'd like to believe that they had a bond,the both of them.A relationship of camaraderie that went beyond its dependency on their common factors of Ichigo and world-saving.

Kuchiki-san,he called her . Ishida , she called him . The words fell naturally from their mouths,no alternatives would ever form there . Kuchiki -san,he called her…But then again,he wasn't Ichigo . He couldn't call her Rukia and get away with . No ,he wasn't Ichigo . He didn't call to her soul like Ichigo did,his wasn't the sun that warmed the chilly surface of her Moon . But he was…he was…Ishida was someone special,as someone who was like her and was like Ichigo,and as someone whose heart was big enough to cushion the crushing weight of his head . As a fitting idiot partner to Kurosaki Ichigo,or as the archaic warrior of nobility,Ishida Uryuu was a person to be remembered.

She, Kuchiki Rukia, remembered him as on that warm night . Walking her home with her hideously knitted scarf around his neck. She is saying-

'Please-please take care of Ichigo!'

And he stands there,the Quincy boy,the friend who almost wasn't . He wears her scarf and in a glorious moment teaches her what acceptance feels like.

Her happy amethysts seek his sapphires, but they aren't there . Or rather,there are pieces of stained glass church windows,half filled with a hopeless sky,half with frustrated blue dust from butterfly wings . They put her on a pedestal and shove her away,and Rukia almost gasps then because the way they tug so strongly and desperately at her heart is unexpected . She wants to ask him what is wrong, she wants suddenly to comfort,to help . But Rukia was never a brave . Rukia was always scared;scared of rejection . What if he thought she was being overly familiar?She was still new to this world;its ways were unknown to her . What if she-

But then he has looked away and when he looks back up the seas of his pupils are cornflower blue,and suddenly in that moment,something from him reaches out and snags at her,drags her,carries her deeper and deeper into him and God,she is so close,so close to understanding him,figuring him out…

Then he pulls back and she is thrown out.

'For you'

And Ishida Uryuu walks away, taking his mysteries with him, leaving Rukia with the feeling of having missed something very very important.

That is how she, Kuchiki Rukia remembered him. And maybe he remembered her as the weird shinigami girl who simply _wouldn't get it_.

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XXX

_And the Queen's eyes wandered to the fluttering snow cape ._


End file.
